Team B.C. advances to Scotties Tournament of Hearts Championship Pool

Team B.C. bounced back after a lop-sided loss one night earlier to defeat Newfoundland/Labrador and punch their ticket to the Championship Pool of eight teams at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, held in Penticton.

Skipped by Kesa Van Osch, the Nanaimo-based team said the turnaround was thanks in part to a straight-shooter conversation after losing to the number one team in Pool B, Team Alberta 11-1

“We had a very frank conversation last night about what we needed to do going forward,” said Van Osch. “One of the biggest things is we needed to relax, have some fun, tell some jokes. I think that helped us find our groove.”

Sitting in a three way tie with Quebec and Ontario heading into their final round-robin game, and only two spots left to advance into the round of eight, B.C. needed a win. Under the re-vamped Scotties format the four top teams in Pool A and Pool B move on to the Championship Pool.

Van Osch’s team led 4-1 after the fourth end and didn’t look back. The Newfoundland/Labrador team, skipped by Stacie Curtis, were within two as they came to the seventh end but Team B.C. wasn’t about to let them catch up. With a house jammed full of rocks on the button and around the four foot, the B.C. skip managed to take three and the 9-4 lead.

“We decided to play the slash and it ended up being three because there was no way that we could really hurt ourselves unless I cranked it over the top. There was a big opportunity there so we decided to give it a go and take it,” said Van Osch.

Newfoundland/Labrador scored three of their own in the ninth but could not rally a comeback giving B.C. the 10-7 win.

Quebec bowed out of the running for a trip to the Championship Pool with a loss to Alberta. Ontario ended up beating Team Canada on the other ice sheet but B.C. still finished in third. Their win over Newfoundland/Labrador and their previous victory over Ontario in round-robin clinched that spot for them.

Ontario and Newfoundland/Labrador will now play in a tiebreaker for the final Championship Pool spot from Pool B on Thursday morning at 9 a.m.

Nunavut faced Prince Edward Island in the other match in this draw and despite it being another lop-sided loss for them, they made sure they had fun at their last round robin game. At the half the team entertained the crowd dancing to YMCA. Prince Edward Island, also out of contention for the Championship Pool, finished with a win over Nunavut 12-4.

On Thursday the top four teams in each pool will play a crossover round robin against the teams from the other pool they haven’t played yet. Pool A teams that have clinched their spot include Jennifer Jones’ Team Manitoba and and the Wild Card team skipped by Kerri Eirnarson.

kristi.patton@pentictonwesternnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.